Synopses & Reviews
Thomas De Quincey, infamous for his Confessions of an Opium-Eater, confronts London's harrowing streets to thwart the assassination of Queen Victoria. The year is 1855. The Crimean War is raging. The incompetence of British commanders causes the fall of the English government. The Empire teeters.
Amid this crisis comes opium-eater Thomas De Quincey, one of the most notorious and brilliant personalities of Victorian England. Along with his irrepressible daughter, Emily, and their Scotland Yard companions, Ryan and Becker, De Quincey finds himself confronted by an adversary who threatens the heart of the nation.
This killer targets members of the upper echelons of British society, leaving with each corpse the name of someone who previously attempted to kill Queen Victoria. The evidence indicates that the ultimate victim will be Victoria herself. As De Quincey and Emily race to protect the queen, they uncover long-buried secrets and the heartbreaking past of a man whose lust for revenge has destroyed his soul.
Based on actual attempts to assassinate Queen Victoria, Inspector of the Dead brilliantly merges historical fact with fiction, bringing a bloody chapter of Victorian England to vivid, pulse-pounding life.
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PRAISE FOR
MURDER AS A FINE ART:
" Murder as a Fine Art is a masterpiece--I don't use that word lightly-a fantastic historical thriller, beautifully written, intricately plotted, and populated with unforgettable characters. It brilliantly re-creates the London of gaslit streets, fogs, hansom cabs, and Scotland Yard. If you liked The Alienist, you will absolutely love this book. I was spellbound from the first page to last."--Douglas Preston, coauthor of the #1 bestseller Cold Vengeance
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"London 1854, noxious yellow fogs, reeking slums, intrigues in high places, murders most foul, but instead of Sherlock Holmes solving crimes via the fine art of deduction, we have the historical English Opium-Eater himself, Thomas De Quincey. David Morrell fans--and they are legion--can look forward to celebrating Murder as a Fine Art as one of their favorite author's strongest and boldest books in years."--Dan Simmons, author of Drood and The Terror
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"Morrell's use of De Quincey's life is absolutely amazing. I literally couldn't put it down: I felt as though I were in Dickens as he described London's fog and in Wilkie Collins when we entered Emily's diary. There were beautiful touches all the way through. Murder as a Fine Art is a triumph."--Robert Morrison, author of The English Opium Eater: A Biography of Thomas De Quincey
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...AND FOR DAVID MORRELL:
"An absolute master of the thriller."--Dean Koontz
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"The finest thriller writer living today, bar none."--Steve Berry
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"Everything [Morrell] writes has a you-are-there quality, and that, combined with his ability to propel characters through a scene, makes reading him like attending a private screening."--Washington Post Book World
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PRAISE FOR INSPECTOR OF THE DEAD:
"Riveting! I literally thought I was in 1855 London. With this mesmerizing series, David Morrell doesn't just delve into the world of Victorian England--he delves into the heart of evil, pitting one man's opium-skewed brilliance against a society where appearances are everything . . . and the most vicious killers lurk closer than anyone thinks."--Lisa Gardner, author of Crash and Burn and The Perfect Husband
About the Author
David Morrell is an Edgar and Anthony Award finalist, a Nero and Macavity winner, and recipient of the prestigious career-achievement ThrillerMaster award from the International Thriller Writers. He has written twenty-nine works of fiction, which have been translated into thirty languages. He is also a former literature professor at the University of Iowa and received his PhD from Pennsylvania State University.